A Kernel of Truth
by happyfunball
Summary: The best part of Shawn's days off is Juliet, although she doesn't know that. Will he get up the courage to tell her? Shules.


"And...And...oh, no. He fell into a tar pit." Shawn tossed his chicken strip into the splotch of ketchup on his plate.

"Shawn," hissed Gus, mildly attempting to reprimand him.

"What?" asked Shawn innocently. "You never played tar pit when you were a kid? I seem to remember...you did."

"When I was little, Shawn," Gus retorted. "And you can't even play that without the dinosaur nuggets!"

"Look, I would if I could, Gus!" Shawn heaved a dramatic sigh. "But this place doesn't sell those nuggets to people over twelve."

"Still, we're supposed to be acting like mature adults here." Gus crossed his arms and looked away. He shot a fleeting glance back at Shawn once...twice...three times... "Just give me one," Gus finally grumbled, reaching across the table and snatching a few of Shawn's fries.

"I love our days off," commented Shawn, smiling as he leaned back in his chair.

"Don't we all," added Gus in between fries.

"Hey! Fancy seeing you here," said a familiar voice. Shawn and Gus looked up simultaneously.

"Jules!" exclaimed Shawn, leaping up.

"Hi...Shawn..." said Juliet, slightly taken aback.

"Hey, Juliet," Gus said. "We needed or something?"

"What?" asked Juliet. "Oh! Oh, no. I just needed some lunch."

"Here?" questioned Shawn. "Detective O'Hara, I am appalled."

"Really?" Juliet raised her eyebrows skeptically.

"No...not really," Shawn replied. He looked around. "When did I...?"

"When she got here, Shawn," Gus told him.

"Ah, right." Shawn sat back down. He pulled out his phone and tried to flip it open suavely, but only succeeded in flinging it at Gus.

"Mind if I...grab a bite with you guys?" Juliet asked.

"Not at all." Gus handed Shawn's phone back to him. "And your phone doesn't open, Shawn."

"Right." Shawn grinned. Juliet sat down and placed her order as Shawn fiddled with his phone beside her. Soon, Gus's phone vibrated in his pocket.

As he pulled it out, he immediately started complaining, "Shawn, you're two feet away! Why do you have to- "

"Shhh!" hissed Shawn, waving his hands frantically.

"Hm?" Juliet looked up from her meal.

"Um, nothing, Jules," interjected Shawn quickly, trying to look nonchalant. She eyed him slightly warily for a bit, but continued eating. A mildly quick series of frantic Shawn to Gus mouthings and whispers ensued, resulting in Gus grudgingly looking at the text message Shawn had sent him.

'This is the BEST part of our days off,' Gus read. He looked back at Shawn totally confused. Shawn began twitching his head in Juliet's direction. Still not getting it, Gus shrugged his shoulders, mouthing, 'What?' Shawn rolled his eyes and began "itching his nose", pointing at Juliet. Gus just raised an eyebrow, giving him a blank stare.

"Juliet!" Shawn hissed at Gus.

"What?" asked Juliet, looking up again.

"And Romeo!" shouted Shawn. "Juliet and Romeo! Or, Romeo and Juliet, as it's more well known."

"Uh...Shawn and I were just discussing good high school memories," Gus quipped, trying to cover for Shawn.

"And one of them involved Romeo and Juliet?" questioned Juliet. "I get this odd, sneaking suspicion you two are talking about me."

"Of course not!" laughed Shawn. "I mean, I would call you Jules, right? Gus?"

"R-right!" stammered Gus. "Shawn pretty much never calls you anything else, Juliet."

"Except beautiful, stunning, amazing, appalling...in a good way!" Shawn exclaimed.

"Riiiiight..." said Juliet. She rose, slapping a twenty dollar bill on the table. "don't forget to give me back my change, Spencer." She walked away and Gus glared at Shawn.

"Appalling in a good way?"

Shawn sat sprawled across his couch at the Psych office. Gus noticed and looked over curiously. It was getting late and was around the time Shawn got excited for some of his favorite TV shows.

"What's up, Shawn?" he asked.

"Oh...nothing," Shawn replied, sounding slightly dazed.

"Come on, man," persisted Gus. "You're acting...abnormal."

"Abnormal." Shawn chuckled. "You know what's abnormal, Gus?" He rose. "You know I'm pretty much always never serious when I flirt around with Jules, right? It's never really serious, I'm not totally in love with her, and it's just basically a friend pretty much trying to push another friend over the edge."

"That's a real nice thing to do to a police coworker," commented Gus sarcastically, but he still nodded.

"Something happened, Gus," Shawn continued. "Today wasn't that fake, flirty stuff I always do."

"You mean it was..."

"Unfortunately and epicly real," Shawn sighed. "I can't stop thinking about Jules." he collapsed back into the chair. "I try to divert my mind, think of something else, but it's just like, bam, there she is. Apparently, she's somehow related to everything I can think about."

Gus let out a low whistle. "That's pretty heavy, Shawn."

"Yeah. And that's why I sent you that text," Shawn told him. "Seeing Jules really is, like, the highlights of my days off."

"So...what are you going to do about this whole Juliet situation?" asked Gus as they both ate lunch the next day.

"I don't know," Shawn replied, slightly miserably. They suddenly heard the tmp tmp of approaching high-heels.

"Is that her? That can't be her. Tell me it's not her." Shawn muttered quickly.

"It's her," whispered Gus. Shawn leapt up.

"Bathroom," he said, running off.

"Shawn!" Gus hissed after him. Juliet came over.

"Hey guys," she said, stealing Shawn's seat. "Second day in a row I've seen you here. Is Shawn around?"

"He just left for the bathroom," Gus answered as Shawn ran by in the opposite direction.

"Um...wasn't that-"

"Probably someone else," Gus interrupted.

"This is going to sound crazy, but I can't stop thinking about Shawn," Juliet said with a small smile. "Apparently he's related to everything i think about." Gus raised his eyebrows, curious.

"Shawn. You have to ask Juliet out on a date," Gus said once Shawn had returned and Juliet left.

"Why? Did she say something?" Shawn asked.

"No," Gus replied quickly. "And what was with you doing that mad dash back by the table?"

"Bathroom was in the opposite direction," Shawn stated simply.

"Nevermind that," Gus said. "Just pull out your phone and call her."

"I'm still suspicious as to the why," Shawn remarked, but he did so, anyway. Juliet picked up on the third ring.

"Shawn? What's up?" she asked.

"Hey, Jules, um...nothing big..." Shawn trailed off.

"Well?" Juliet prompted him. "Why did you call, Shawn?"

"Well...it's just...Jules, do you want to go to dinner with me tonight?" Shawn questioned. There was a silence on the other end of the line.

"Just...you," Juliet said.

"Just me," Shawn answered.

"Tonight?"

"Tonight."

"Mr. Spencer, are you asking me out on a date?"

"...Yes. I suppose I am. A proper one, too."

"I would love to." Shawn's face slowly lit up after hearing her response.

"Alright, then, let's meet up at the theater," Shawn suggested.

"Perfect! See you then!" They both hung up.

"How'd it go?" asked Gus. Shawn grinned.

"Thumbs up, buddy. Thumbs up."

After a pretty darn good date, Juliet and Shawn were laughing as they walked back to their cars.

"Wow..." sighed Juliet. "Tonight was so much fun!"

"Yeah." Shawn smiled.

"Shawn -" Juliet pulled on his sleeve tentatively.

"Yeah, Jules?" He hung back, standing close to her. She looked down at the ground, feeling slightly embarrassed and awkward.

"Are-are you sure that...well..." She sighed, hoping the huge exhale would get all the butterflies from her stomach. "Are you sure that every other little flirty thing you did before wasn't really...real?"

"Not at all," breathed Shawn, leaning in. He placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her. After a while, they broke apart. Shawn smiled gently. "Because rooted in every lie is a kernel of truth." Juliet smiled back.


End file.
